Concrete form ties



Nov. 8, 1966 J. CAMF'O CONCRETE FORM TIES Filed June :3, 1964 .0 RP WM MC m Y B ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice Filed June 3, 1964, Ser. No. 372,338 4 Claims. (Cl. 249-41) This invention relates to a concrete form tie designed for holding wall form panels in proper position to receive fluid concrete.

Present tie rods used in positioning two individual form walls and preventing the walls from spreading when the forms are filled with semi-fluid concrete are usually provided with separate attachment devices for attaching and adjusting them on the wall forms. These'devices consist of spacing blocks, clamps, wedges, set screws, etc. which need to be carried from job to job, cleaned and otherwise taken care of.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a simple economical one-piece, concrete form tie in which all of these extraneous devices will be eliminated and which will consist simply of a one-piece form tie which can be quickly and easily positioned between two opposed wall form panels to efiectively and securely prevent inward or outward movement of the panels.

Another object of the invention is to provide a onepiece form tie which will, in addition to accurately maintaining the proper separation of the form panels, engage and hold horizontal studs against the exterior of the form panels while simultaneously holding the form panels in place.

Present concrete tie rods are expensive to install, some require nailing or twisting, others require attachment devices or gadgets to hold them in place. A further object of this invention is to provide a tie rod which will not require any separate attachment devices and which can be completely installed by simply positioning it between the form panels.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efliciency. These will become more apparent from the following description of the invention.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description thereof.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary cross section, through a concrete wall form with the invention in place therein;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the improved, one-piece form brace and tie;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a portion of a form panel showing a vertically elongated opening therein to receive the improved tie; and

FIG. 4 is a detail cross section through a finished wall that has been formed with the use of the improved tie.

It is customary to form concrete wall forms from plywood panels, such as shown at 11 in FIG. 1, Which are maintained, separated and supported in any suitable manner between horizontal backing studs 19. With the use of this invention, the panels 11 are provided with accurately spaced, vertically-elongated tie holes 12 for receiving the extremities of the tie. The holes 12 may be formed in any suitable manner, such as by a broach or by the use of a routing drill. The tie holes are vertically and horizontally aligned in the panels and the holes 12 in each panel align with the holes in the opposite panel 11 so that ties extending through the holes will project horizon- 3,284,043 Patented Nov. 8, 1966 tally outward from both faces of the complete wall beneath the studs 19.

The ties are similar and each comprises a lower, relatively-heavy tie rod 13, having upwardly and inwardly turned terminal hooks 14 at its extremities, with a shorter, upper, form-clamping member 16 medially welded thereto at 15. The member 16 is provided with an upwardly and inwardly turned form clamp 17 at each of its extremities which terminates in upwardly-extending, panel-engaging portions 18 which extend above the horizontal plane of the upper extremities of the terminal hooks 14.

The panel-engaging portions 18 on the upper tie member are spaced inwardly from the terminal hooks 14 on the lower tie member a distance slightly less than the transverse width of the studs 19 plus the thickness of the panels 11. The vertical height of the terminal hooks 14 is slightly less than the vertical length of the holes 12 while the vertical height of the panel-engaging portions 18 is slightly greater than the vertical length of the holes 12 so that the panel-engaging portions Will extend upwardly on the inside of the panels 11, as shown in FIG. 1, when the tie is in place in the hole so as to urge the panels outwardly.

The improved form ties are applied to the panels 11 by simply passing the panels over the extremities of the ties with the lower tie rods 13 projecting outwardly through the holes 12 on both faces of the form. The studs 19 are then turned slightly on a transverse angle and hooked behind the terminal hooks 14 of a horizontal row of the lower tie rods 13 and their inner edges are forced downwardly to a horizontal position against the panels, as shown in FIG. 1, to resiliently flex the form clamps 17 inwardly so that the panels will be clamped between the studs 19 and against the terminal hooks 14 by the inherent resiliency of the upper form clamping members 16, as shown in FIG. 1, to firmly lock the assembly in position.

It will be noted that the upper member 16 is of less diameter than the lower rod 13 so that the latter will not flex and all flexing will be accomplished in the upper member 16. In actual use, No. 4 ga. Fabri bond reinforcing rod has proven satisfactory for the lower tie rod 13 and No. 10 ga. wire spreader has proven satisfactory for the upper form clamping member 16.

Vertical breakback notches 20 are formed in the sides of the rod 13 and the clamping member 16 at each side of the weld 15, spaced inwardly from the panel engaging portions 18 approximately 1 /2.

After the concrete has been poured to form the wall, indicated at 21, the forms are removed by simply driving the studs 19 upwardly to release them from the terminal hooks 14 after which the panels can be pulled from the extremities of the ties. The hooks 14 in returning through the holes 12 clean out any residual concrete therein. This leaves the wall standing with the terminal hooks projecting from both the faces thereof.

The projecting tie rods 13 are then broken away at the breakdown notches 20 leaving the said portions of the ties imbedded therein and forming a tight bond therewith as shown in FIG 4. The indentions at the breaks are relatively inconspicuous and may be left in the concrete Walls or the surfaces of the walls may, if desired, be covered with plaster or stucco 22 or otherwise covered.

It is desired to call attention to the fact that there is no wastage of the wooden portions of the forms since the wall panels 11 can be reused and the studs 19 are not damaged in any way.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A concrete form comprising:

(a) two form panels spaced apart in parallel relation to receive the concrete between their inner faces;

- -(b )1. horizontally aligned and horizontally spaced tie holes formed in said panels, the holes in each panel being in registering alignment with the holes in the other panel;

(c) tie rods extending through registering holes in both of said panels and extending outwardly beyond the outer faces of both of said panels;

(d) upturned terminal hooks formed on both extremities of each of said tie rods in outwardly spaced relation to the outer faces of said panels;

(e) backing studs positioned between said terminal hooks and the outer faces of said panels and so as to prevent separation of said panels;

(f) means on each of said tie rods contacting the inner faces of said panels and acting to prevent said panels from approaching each other;

(g) a form clamping member medially attached to and in alignment with each of said tie rods; and

(h) upturned form clamps on the extremities of each of said form clamping members in alignment with the inner faces of said panels.

2. A concrete form as described in claim 1 in which the attachment of the form clamping member to said tie rod is through the medium of a relatively short weld at the midpoints of both said clamping member and said rod.

3. A concrete form as described in claim 2 having breakback notches formed in the sides of both the tie rod and the form clamping member adjacent their extremities for breaking away the upturned terminal hooks and the upturned form clamps after the concrete has set.

4. A concrete form as described in claim 3 in which the upturned terminal .hooks terminate at lower elevation than said form clamps so that the former can be passed outwardly through said tie rod holes to bring said form clamps into contact with the inner faces of said panels.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,657,449 11/1953 Hillberg 249-214 3,060,541 10/1962 Hillberg 249l90 3,181,832 5/1965 Chianese 24943 I FOREIGN PATENTS 483,097 3/1917 France.

J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

R. D. BALDWIN, G. A. KAP, Assistant Examiners. 

1. A CONCRETE FORM COMPRISING: (A) TWO FORM PANELS SPACED APART IN PARALLEL RELATION TO RECEIVE THE CONCRETE BETWEEN THEIR INNER FACES; (B) HORIZONTALLY ALIGNED AND HORIZONTALLY SPACED TIE HOLES FORMED IN SAID PANELS, THE HOLES IN EACH PANEL BEING IN REGISTERING ALIGNMENT WITH HOLES IN THE OTHER PANEL; (C) TIE RODS EXTENDING THROUGH REGISTERING HOLES IN BOTH OF SAID PANELS AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY BEYOND THE OUTER FACES OF BOTH OF SAID PANELS; (D) UPTURNED TERMINAL HOOKS FORMED ON BOTH EXTERMITIES OF EACH OF SAID TIE RODS IN OUTWARDLY SPACED RELATION TO THE OUTER FACES OF SAID PANELS; (E) BACKING STUDS POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID TERMINAL HOOKS AND THE OUTER FACES OF SAID PANELS AND SO AS TO PREVENT SEPARATION OF SAID PANELS; (F) MEANS ON EACH OF SAID TIE RODS CONTACTING THE INNER FACES OF SAID PANELS AND ACTING TO PREVENT SAID PANELS FROM APPROACHING EACH OTHER; (G) A FORM CLAMPING MEMBER MEDIALLY ATTACHED TO AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH EACH OF SAID TIE RODS; AND (H) UPTURNED FORM CLAMPS ON THE EXTREMITES OF EACH OF SAID TURN CLAMPING MEMBERS IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE INNER FACES OF SAID PANELS. 